LegiStorm

A veteran trade lawyer and lobbyist for pork interests has joined the House Ways and Means Committee's Trade Subcommittee as trade counsel.

Joshua Snead most recently worked at King and Spalding for six years and before that as an international trade specialist for the National Pork Producers Council. Snead has lobbied for the National Pork Producers and BATLaw Ltd. (British American Tobacco).

Snead earned a bachelor of arts in philosophy from Gordon College and studied philosophy abroad at University of Oxford before getting both a JD and MBA from Pepperdine University.

If the GOP is looking to reinvent itself, it can look no further than to Warren Davidson, a patented inventor who is a virtual lock to fill the remainder of former House Speaker John Boehner's term. 

Davidson, a newcomer to politics, co-invented a tip-resistant valve plug that improves performance in bypass valves for pressure sensitive valve assemblies.

Davidson won last week's crowded GOP primary and will face candidates from the Democratic and Green parties June 7 to replace Boehner (R-Ohio) until a general election can be held Nov. 8. Ohio's 8th District is considered a GOP stronghold and was owned by Boehner for nearly 15 years before his October resignation.

A former Army Ranger, Davidson was bankrolled by the Club for Growth and Boehner antagonist Rep. Jim Jorden (R-Ohio), who runs the House Freedom Caucus.

Owen Dodd, the nephew of former Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), has joined Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) as his legislative correspondent.

Dodd was a government affairs associate at Capitol Strategies Group for one year before joining Larson and interned for former Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) in 2011-12.

He earned his master's in international relations and affairs from New School in 2013 and a bachelor's in U.S. history and anthropology from the University of Montana in 2005.

Owen Dodd's great uncle was the late Sen. Thomas J. Dodd, Chris Dodd's father and a Connecticut Democrat who served from 1959-71. His aunt, Jackie Clegg Dodd, the wife of former Sen. Chris Dodd, worked briefly as a legislative aide last year for the Senate Democratic Conference Committee. Owen Dodd's cousin, Abbey Dodd, is a former lobbyist for Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and Hand and is now a senior manager at Campbell Soup Co. 

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) has hired a decorated fighter pilot to be his new military legislative assistant.

Air Force Maj. Beau Diers, an F-16 fighter pilot, served in Afghanistan, Iraq, Germany, Libya and South Korea and in 2013 received the Lt. Gen. Claire Lee Chennault Award for outstanding aerial warfare tacticians.

A third-generation pilot (Diers' grandfather flew as a civilian and his father still does), Diers graduated from Fremont (Neb.) High School in 1999 and then Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2003. He was a weapons instructor at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., before joining Cotton's staff recently.

Cotton currently chairs the Senate Armed Services Airland Subcommittee.

A congressman's daughter has been hired by the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.

Taylor Trott, daughter of freshman Rep. Dave Trott (R-Mich.), is the newest legislative assistant on the committee's Health Subcommittee. She is not a novice to the political world. She previously interned with the same subcommittee under former Chairman Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) and current Chairman Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-Ohio). The Birmingham, Mich., native also volunteered on her father's campaign in 2014.

Rep. Trott is not a member of the Ways and Means Committee or any of its subcommittees.

Emily Schillinger, committee communications director, emailed LegiStorm that Taylor Trott was the most qualified applicant. 

"From August of 2015 to February 2016, Taylor Trott served as an unpaid intern for the Health Subcommittee and proved to be a valuable member of our team," Schillinger said. "Throughout her internship, Taylor demonstrated her strong work ethic, wonderful attitude and impressive understanding of policies handled by the Health Subcommittee. When the subcommittee decided to hire a full-time legislative assistant (an entry level position at our committee), Taylor was interviewed along with several other candidates. Taylor's experience, positive attitude, strong skills, and proven ability to work well with our team made her by far the best qualified candidate. We are now thrilled to have her on our team on a permanent basis."

Trott earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and studied abroad in Paris.